German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS) 2020

Objective:
The German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS) is the data base developed within the project “Individuelle Konsequenzen internationaler Migration im Lebensverlauf” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (project number 345626236). GERPS follows an origin-based sampling approach which allows to study individual consequences of international migrations form a life-course perspective. Apart the migration process and the sociodemographic attributes of international mobiles, the objective of GERPS is to conduct longitudinal data across the four following life domains: Employment and Income, Family and Partnership, Health and Well-being, and Social Networks and Participation.

Method:
The study design of GERPS exploits information from German registers within a multistage stratified probability sample of emigrants and remigrants with German citizenship aged between 20 and 70 with a documented international migration between July 2017 and June 2018. Currently GERPS is comprising four waves covering a period of 24 months. The first wave started in November 2018 and ended in February 2019. The second wave started in May 2019, six months after the beginning of wave 1. The third wave started in November 2019 and ended in January 2020, six months after the beginning of wave 2. The fourth wave is scheduled for November 2020. Wave 1 includes information about 4.545 emigrants and 6.465 remigrants.

Analytical potential & Questionnaire:
The research design complements traditional immigrant surveys conducted in major destination countries by surveying emigrants and remigrants from the perspective of the country of origin. The origin-based sampling approach has at least three major advantages compared to traditional approaches where samples are drawn from immigrants in their destination countries: First, it enables comparative studies of emigrants in various destination countries and of remigrants returning from different destination countries. Second, as GERPS is organized as SOEP-related study, the research design enables comparisons of the internationally mobile population with non-migrants staying in the country of origin by drawing on the German Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP). Third, the research design allows comparative studies on emigrants and remigrants, providing the opportunity to analyse consequences of international migration from at least two perspectives – shortly after emigration and shortly after return.

Each wave of GERPS covers questions on German migrant’s current living situation in the different areas of life, gradually enabling researchers to draw a picture of survey participants’ life course with every further wave. Additionally, each wave has its own focus: The first wave covers migration motives and the situation shortly before migration. This enables the realization of a hypothetical fifth retrospective measurement point, allowing researchers to reflect on causes and consequences of international migration right from the beginning. The second wave concentrates on income, labour market integration, and social background. The third wave covers in particular social and family relationships. The fourth wave will be supplemented by an open module.

The present study comprises the data for the third wave.<br>1. Screening module for recording migration between waves 2 and 3: current housing situation: move since the last survey; move within the city/municipality, to another city/municipality, (back) to Germany, (back) to the previous country or to another country; time of move; distance of the new dwelling from the old place of residence (open, distance category); reasons for move (e.g., own professional reasons or partner´s professional reasons, family reasons, financial reasons, etc.); number of inhabitants of current place of residence; ease of finding one´s way after the move; experiences of discrimination and preferential treatment in the country of residence because of own origin.

2. Personal situation
Partnership: stable partnership; gender of partner; partnership in wave 2: partnership still exists today; continuation of the partnership beyond the move to Germany/ to the current country; decision to move within the partnership; driving force for the decision to move within the partnership; partner´s move to Germany before/after the respondent or at the same time or already lived in Germany/country W3); marital status;

Partnership biography: start of relationship with current partner (month and year); number of stable partnerships since age 14; relationship duration of longest partnership; ever married or in a registered partnership before current marriage;

Questions for singles: how strongly did separation proceed from the respondent; moving as reason for separation; feeling as single (relief, desire for a partner);

Current household: living situation: household size; household composition; relationship to these persons; year of birth of these persons.

Fertility biography and number of children: children outside household; number of children outside household; relationship to these children; age (year of birth) of children outside household; place of residence (country) of these children (Germany, country previous wave, other country, don´t know/ already deceased); which other country;
Partners: division of household labor between partners (washing, cooking, cleaning, shopping, repairs to house, apartment, or car, financial matters, visits to authorities, childcare); equitable division of labor;
Partner outside the household: country of partner´s current residence (Germany, country of previous wave, other country); which other country; frequency of contact with partner;
Information on parents: country of current residence of mother and father (Germany, country previous wave, other country); current country;

3. Social and family relationships:
Contact intensity with relatives in Germany (parents, parents-in-law, siblings, grandchildren, grandparents, other relatives, close friends);

Friendship network: composition of friendship circle: proportion of friends with migration background; structure of friendship circle: number of close friends; number of close friends in Germany, in current/previous country of residence or in another country; country of origin of these friends;

Social support and neighborhood: characterization of relationship with neighbors;

Support within family and between friends: financial support provided to relatives or others in the past 12 months; relationship to recipients of financial support; amount of financial support; received financial support themselves in the past 12 months; relationship to person providing support; amount of financial support received;

Role orientation and conflict: attitudes toward gender roles;

Participation and social capital: confidants; potential supporters in case of need for care;

Connections to Germany and planned moves: length of stay in Germany since leaving (number of days); serious thoughts of moving to another country; intended move back to Germany or back to previous country of residence or to another country; reasons for intended move; planned length of stay in current country; planned length of stay in years.

4. Current employment situation (if no information from previous wave); current main job; change in main job since wave 2; main job at time of last interview (if information from last interview not correct); change in main job; current main job; change in employment status since W2: reasons for leaving self-employment; change of job or employer since last interview; month and year of change of employer/leaving last job; type of termination of previous professional activity; at the time of leaving already a new job in prospect or a new employment contract; time of starting work in current job (month and year); no longer primarily employed: time of ending employment (month and year) and type of termination of previous professional activity; professional activity; industry affiliation of current business; confirmation or correction of recorded information on occupational activity and industry affiliation from the last wave; change regarding employer due to move to country of residence; posting by employer; contracted weekly working time in hours and actual weekly working time; average monthly gross working earnings in the last month; average monthly net work/earnings in the last month; category of work/earnings; current job corresponds to learned profession; type of training required for the job; temporary employment relationship; supervisor function; number of persons for whom authority to issue directives exists; number of employees in the company as a whole; place of work in the country of residence/Germany or in another country; work-life balance: Work from home; Work-life balance; Work-Family Conflict Scale; assessment of opportunities on the labor market.

Self-employed and freelancers: occupational activity; industry affiliation of current business; change in occupational situation since last interview; number of employees (size of business); country of place of work (in country of residence/Germany, in another country); weekly working hours; average monthly profit before taxes; average monthly profit after taxes; average monthly net profit (categorized); current occupation corresponds to learned occupation; type of education required for occupation; work-life balance; Work-Family Conflict Scale; assessment of opportunities on the labor market.

Non-employed: intending to take up employment; planned period for taking up employment; desire to pursue a particular occupation; preferred occupation; type of education required for the occupation; assessment of opportunities in the labor market.

Retirees: receiving pension payments; reasons for retirement since previous wave; current or intended gainful employment as part-time job or no interest in gainful employment; reasons for (intended) gainful employment or reasons against gainful employment in retirement.

Students: studying or attending school; same studies as at the time of last interview; type of degree in current studies; number of semesters; number of subject semesters; stay abroad during studies at a German university or studies are mainly at the current university; stay abroad in country W 2 was required in the study plan; current stay abroad is part of an organized mobility program (TEMPUS, ERASMUS (MUNDUS), LINGUA, other mobility program); type of study financing; students in Germany: Stay abroad during studies at a foreign university or studies mainly take place at the current university in Germany; current stay in Germany is prescribed in the study plan; stay in Germany is part of an organized mobility program (TEMPUS, ERASMUS (MUNDUS), LINGUA, other mobility program); type of study financing.

Trainees/ persons in further education: apprenticeship occupation; industry affiliation of training company; change in occupational situation since last survey; correction of information on occupation and industry affiliation; contractually agreed weekly working time in hours and actual weekly working time; number of employees in total company (company size); average monthly gross employment earnings in the last month; average monthly net employment earnings; change in employer; current stay abroad is part of an organized mobility program (TEMPUS, ERASMUS (MUNDUS), LINGUA, other mobility program).

5. Current financial situation: assessment of the household´s financial situation; net household income (open, categorized).

6. Attitudes, personality, and well-being: satisfaction with various areas of life; control beliefs; social isolation (lacking company of others, being left out, being socially isolated); self-assessment of health status; belonging/identity: attachment to the community of residence and its citizens in the current country of residence or in Germany, with the country of residence/ with Germany as a whole and its citizens, with the community of origin and its citizens in Germany or in the country of origin, with Germany as a whole and its citizens or the country in which the respondent has lived, and with the European Union and its citizens; self-assessment of risk-taking; general life satisfaction.

Demography: sex; German citizenship; acquisition of German citizenship; intended application for citizenship of country of emigration; information on residence status in last survey is no longer applicable; current residence status; language skills: Language other than German in country of residence; self-assessment of knowledge of language of country of residence; knowledge of local language acquired at school; efforts to improve language skills before moving; nature of efforts to improve language skills; language spoken predominantly with family members, friends, and at work; language of media used and frequency of use; Internet access (infrastructure).

Sociodemographic and socioeconomic status of partner: age (year of birth); born in Germany; German nationality; citizenship; school-leaving qualification; vocational training or degree completed; type of training or degree; employment status; weekly working hours.

Participation and social capital: frequency of selected leisure activities (helping out with friends, relatives, or neighbors; volunteering in clubs, associations, or social services; participation in citizens´ initiatives, political parties, or local politics); interest in politics; interest in politics in current country of residence; interest in politics in Germany; participation in the 2019 European elections.

Parental/social background: parents´ German citizenship; parents´ education: highest general education degree; vocational training or higher education; occupational status; characteristics of occupation when respondent was 15 years old;

Divorce or separation experience: cohabitation of parents until respondent was 18 years old; reason why parents did not live together during respondent´s childhood and adolescence; age of respondent at the time of separation of parents or at the death of a parent(s);

Socialization: place of residence before German reunification (if year of birth before 1989): in the GDR, in the Federal Republic of Germany, in another country.

Additionally coded: Panel ID; respondent is identical to person from wave 2; GERPS group wave 3; year and month of interview; lead probability (wave 2 after wave 3); original sample; weighting factor.

Derived variables: Partner status W 3; separation from partner between wave 2 and wave 3; new stable partnership between wave 2 and wave 3; change in household composition; household size wave 3; current marital status; current partner in household; current household status (1-digit and 2-digit); household status W 3; number of children under 17 in household W 3; age of youngest child in household; children in household under 6, from 6 to under 12, and from 12 to under 17; education: ISCED 11 and Casmin classification; highest level of schooling; highest level of vocational education and tertiary education of respondent and partner W 3; current employment status of respondent and partner W 3; current contracted hours of work per week and actual hours of work per week W 3; current contracted hours of work and actual hours of work arrangement W 3; ISEI 08 and Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale (SIOPS88); flag variables; duration of current partnership in days; total number of all biological children; total number of all non-birth children; residence status W 3; born in Germany; region (current country of residence); International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO08) (one digit).